The invention relates to a vehicle and to a method for controlling a vehicle.
Such vehicles and methods are known in the related art, for example from motor vehicles comprising a combination instrument with a microcontroller and indicator lights, which is an availability coordinator in the sense of this document. The combination instrument is connected, as a control device, to a data bus of the motor vehicle, for example a CAN bus or FlexRay bus, in order to gather the data needed to display the corresponding operating states by the indicator lights from the further control devices, for example the engine controller, the anti-lock braking system (ABS) and the electronic stability program (ESP), which are likewise connected to the data bus. The failure or a malfunction or a restricted functionality of particular systems of the motor vehicle results in the driver being requested, via corresponding warnings in the combination instrument, for example by indicator lights flashing red, to switch off the vehicle, for example in the event of failure of an electric steering system or in the event of an excessively low oil level or in the event of an excessively hot engine or in the event of excessively little brake fluid. This organizational measure is absolutely necessary since the driver is no longer able to safely drive the vehicle.
The document DE 103 57 922 A1 discloses a method for controlling actuators in vehicles, in which signals are generated in a multiplicity of drive systems and are supplied to a coordinator. The coordinator generates, on the one hand, control signals for controlling actuators and, on the other hand, feedback signals which are transmitted to a feedback device for conveying information relating to the driving state of the vehicle to the driver. The control signals generated are supplied to a control system which controls the actuators on the basis of the supplied control signals. According to the disclosure, the drive systems are divided into at least two groups. The measures which are carried out when a fault occurs in a drive system are determined in this case on the basis of the affiliation of the drive system to one of the groups. If a fault occurs in one of the drive systems, a safe state is induced and the corresponding drive system is then deactivated. The driver is informed of this. The driving task must then be returned to the driver in this safe state. In this case, it is not always ensured that the vehicle can continue to be operated without restrictions. Therefore, it may be necessary to allow only restricted driving, to cause the search for a workshop or even to cause the vehicle standstill. Therefore, deactivation of autonomous driving is induced.
Another method for controlling the operation of a fully automatic driver assistance system designed for independent vehicle steering in a motor vehicle is known from the document DE 10 2009 050 399 A1, in which, if at least one takeover condition occurs, a driver takeover request is output which, when the driver takes over driving, in particular by operating the steering wheel and/or the pedals and/or a switch, results in deactivation of the driver assistance system, in which case, if a takeover condition occurs, an action plan comprising at least one driving intervention, which is used to change the motor vehicle to a safe state, in particular the standstill, and also a driver takeover request, in particular, is carried out, said action plan containing a temporal sequence of control commands for vehicle systems.
The vehicle breakdown caused by the required switching-off is very unpleasant for the driver and may endanger his safety.